Quarantine to zap fruit storage pests

Fruit-loving insects, beware: A new technology called the “Controlled Atmosphere/Temperature Treatment System” may be coming to a nearby packinghouse or plant quarantine facility.

Developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists, CATTS is a pesticide-free technology that kills codling moths, oriental fruit moths and certain other insects with a lethal combination of rising temperatures and mixtures of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide.

ARS entomologist Lisa Neven envisions using the technology as a postharvest treatment for apples, peaches, pears, cherries and nectarines destined for export to foreign markets.

Methyl bromide fumigation is a chief means of disinfecting such fruit, but the chemical is expensive, costing around $10 a pound, and its use is heavily regulated due to environmental safety and other concerns.